The Coast Guard has rescued 22 crew members from two merchant vessels that ran aground in stormy conditions near the coast of Porbandar in Gujarat a couple of days ago.

"The Coast Guard on Wednesday used Chetak helicopters for the rescue mission and airlifted 11 crew members from the merchant vessel Arkadia Progress," Commandant N Bakshi told PTI on phone from Porbandar on Wednesday.

"On Tuesday, 11 crew members of the vessel Suja III, which ran aground a few nautical miles from Arkadia Progress, were rescued using lifeboats," Bakshi added.

There were a total of 27 crew members on the Suja III and 29 crew members on Arkadia Progress.

Bakshi said the rest of the crew members of the two vessels have refused to be evacuated and have chosen to remain on the stranded ships.

He did not specify the reason why these crew members had refused to be evacuated.

Both ships ran aground in stormy conditions, which prevailed in the Arabian Sea two days ago.